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How to Replace the Battery in a Pokemon Gold/silver Gameboy Cart

This instructable shows you how to replace a battery in a pokemon gold/silver cart.
If yours deletes your save and won't let you save anymore then chances are you will need to replace the battery.

This may work with other gameboy games but pokemon gold/silver are the only ones I know about.

Please Note: I take no responsibility for any damage to you, your gameboy, your game or anything else. My game and gameboy are fine and this shouldn't damage them, Just covering myself.

Please note: if you have ANY type of save that loads up then this will wreck that, otherwise lets get started

EDIT: quadcam24 has suggested in the comments that instead of using a screwdriver you could use fine tipped pliers to turn the security screw, this method would be easier and quicker than using a screwdriver if you could find pliers with thin enough tips

Step 1: You Will Need

You will need:
A small straight head precision screwdriver,
A CR2025 battery, I'm sure other similar batteries e.g. CR2032 etc. will work but on the pcb it says CR2025 so thats what I used.
And
Some sticky tape,

You can also buy special batteries from the internet, which have tabs to solder directly to the pcb which will created the most secure connection possible, however if you tape the battery firmly then it should be just as good.

Step 2: Open It Up!

Turn the screw on the back anticlockwise until it comes out. Ideally you would use a smaller screwdriver than I used but thats what I had to hand.

Step 3: Take Off the Old Battery and Put the New One On

I did this a while ago so you can see the battery already replaced but you can get the idea.
Take the precision screwdriver and push it from where the tab is stuck onto the battery near the outside in towards the inside therefore removing the tab from the battery but keeping it attached to the pcb. Repeat on the tab stuck to the bottom of the battery.

Stick on the new battery with the tape making sure to get good contact between the battery with the tabs. If that comes loose then your save gets deleted :-(

Note that the battery goes in upside down (see the polarity markings on the pcb)

Please do not solder the tabs onto the battery as this is very dangerous and could cause the battery to explode

Step 4: Your Done!

Put it back together by repeating step 2 (except clockwise). Then put it in your gameboy and turn it on. Start a new game walk outside and save then turn off. Wait about 15 seconds, turn on and if your save is still there it worked.

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304 Discussions

There is a much simpler and permanent solution. A mildly modified cr2032 surface mount coin battery holder should be soldered into the solder points where the original battery was soldered in.

This way future battery changes will take seconds and not require additional soldering. It also should be fast enough in the future that your save games will survive, although you can always backup and restore with a retron 5.

This battery fix works on nes, snes, n64, gameboy, gameboy color, and genesis carts. I have not tried on other carts as if yet, but as long as there is clearance only minor mods should be needed.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't JB Weld be an option? I understand it doesn't conduct electricity, but the current should flow nicely if you make sure the direct connection from the battery to the tab is good before applying JB Weld. You can find it at a local hardware store pretty easily, should only be about $5. Just make sure it dries fully before closing the game up. Of course this is a more semi permanent solution and won't be as easy to replace the bay again should you need to (compared to tape)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't JB Weld be optional? I understand it doesn't conduct electricity, but the current should flow nicely if you make sure the direct connection from the battery to the tab is good before applying JB Weld.

Don't do it this way. Yeah, it works, but it's not worth the risk. It's very easy to damage the board or case using the techniques (and I use that term loosely) illustrated here.

It's not hard to do it the right way, and a proper security bit to remove the screw is not expensive. It's two soldering points to remove to take the old battery out, and two points to solder the new one in. If you don't know how to solder, give it to someone that does. There are only so many copies of these games floating around, and destroying a copy by pulling stunts like this isn't going to make them easier to find.

This is the one I use. It's less than $5 shipped, and you get a 4.5 MM bit as well. Between the two, you can open up just about any Nintendo system or game, it's an investment that pays for itself in no time.

Shop around for the batteries CR2025. Sometimes where they sell watches like jewelry counters have them cheaper then in the battery sections of stores. Also you can buy individual batteries instead of packages of 2 or more if you can't afford the packs.

The special batteryies are 5 for $5 on eBay if you get the 10 for $10 it comes with a special screw driver too :) soldering is kind of difficult if you've never done it before but I would highly recommend it otherwise if you dropped the game and the battery shifts for a second all your poke friends could disappear... :0

Yeah, make sure the battery is clean, try adding a dab of solder, let it cool, put it in place and reheat. I turn my soldering iron temp all of the way up and try not to hold it on the battery for very long.

The higher temp gives the heat less time to spread over the battery, which IMO seems safer than letting the whole thing get to solder melting temp.

Recently dug up my old GBC and GBA systems and wanted to replace the batteries since I lost all my saves (and Pokemon!!)

I just followed your guide and it worked like a charm! I was infuriated at not being able to open my Silver cartridge with a flat screw driver, nor finding the right tool at my local hardware store...so i stumbled across this post and arvin.barcia's hack comment with a melted pen case that worked so well the first try I couldn't believe it. Then spent a good 20mins detaching the metal tabs from the old battery before replacing it and neatly and securely fastening it all up with electrical tape! Everything's working so well I might just ditch my 3DS and Heartgold to replay ol' Silver...

Just did this earlier this afternoon! Worked absolutely awesomely :D Used tweezers to unscrew it (it took a few tries but the whole process was only about 15 minutes) then used a flat-head screwdriver to break the tabs off of the old battery. Getting the one underneath off took a little bit more work because of the angle but it popped off eventually. (For those of you having trouble, kind of slide the edge of the screwdriver underneath and push down as you move it forward. You don't have to worry about scratching the battery so dig into it as much as you can and the solder should scrape off. I also did a little bit of rocking back and forth as well as side to side in order to jimmy it under further.) Then I placed the new battery in, folded the tabs back into place, and layered it with a ton of electrical tape.

I'm pretty sure I got ripped off on the battery (it was 7.50 :/) but I wasn't in the mood to go hunting for a better deal or order one online. It still ended up cheaper than ordering a new game on ebay and now I have my childhood memories back <3 Thank you so much for writing how to do this, Josh! I've played every Pokemon Game ever made and classic Silver is still my favorite :D I've had it since I was eight and I'm NEVER giving it up so now I don't have to :D